As an avid reader, I take my opinions on books very seriously. One of the opinions I hold strongly to is that analog books, which are just paperbound books, are far superior than reading books online. 

One of the many reasons physical copies are better is that it reduces eye strain compared to online books. Staring at a screen all day is not good for your eyes, brain nor overall health. Whenever I stay on technology for too long, my eyes start to get tired and my head gets foggy. I usually switch to reading my book to give myself a break. Reading analog books is a good time to separate yourself from technology so that you’re not on it all day.

Another reason I like physical copies of books better is because digital books have technological limitations. Whether you’re reading on a phone, computer or an e-reader, your device eventually loses power and has to charge. What if you’re reading a really good chapter of your book, but your device dies? And if you aren’t at home when you’re reading, it could be a hassle to find a good place to charge your device. With paper books, you don’t have to worry about any technological malfunctions. Books are also pretty easy to carry around. E-readers however, can be pretty expensive, and I would worry about it being damaged or stolen.

I personally don’t want technology to take over every part of my life. I’ve never been a fan of the futuristic worlds that are seen in many sci-fi movies, where technology is taking up every aspect of the world (the exception is Star Wars). I think that some things are better left alone, books being one of them. It’s good that you have the option of analog books or digital books, but I still think that analog books should be the main focus. Digital books shouldn’t take over.

Collecting books is also very satisfying, and I love being able to see all my books on my bookshelves. It’s especially exciting when you finally get all the books to complete a series. Although shelving space can be hard to find at times, I can usually find a spare place to store them. Having analog books, it is easy to let people borrow them too. I like recommending books to people and letting them borrow mine. It’s always exciting when you get to share your favorite books with others and have someone to talk about them with. If I had an e-reader, I wouldn’t want to let anyone borrow it.

Books are a part of our history. They can be preserved for hundreds of years for others to study. Books from the past can show what people were reading way back when, and help historians make important discoveries about civilizations. If you found an old broken e-reader (far in the future), you wouldn’t be able to turn it on and see which books people were reading. 

  In the end, there’s just something special about analog books. They’re often more satisfying to read (I like to actually see how many pages I have left in a book), and they’re something that you can hold onto for your whole life. Getting reused books that are worn down also has a meaningfulness to it. Seeing a worn down book, I think that whoever had this before me must have really loved it. And I hope that someone will one day get my old books, and love them just as much as I do.